Trains in Ghibli

Do you like trains? Generally male like transport like railways, cars, ships, airplanes, rockets, tanks, locomotive Thomas…..
You know, Miyazaki likes mechanical things, especially military arms.
His book ZASSOU-NOTE shows his encyclopedic knowledge of military. It’s very interesting. Porco Rosso first appeared in this series.
Anyway, in Ghibli movie, we can often see trains. I‘ll try to consider about those trains.

First: At the opening of Grave of Fireflies, Seita and Setsuko got on a train. The train started from second floor of a building. Soon they saw the city got bombing and in the fire. This was Kobe city. So the station seems to be Sannomiya-station and the railway to be Hankyu-railway. It’s a big private railway in Osaka-urban-area. Now Hankyu trains became bigger and longer than those war days. The trains are traditionally painted maroon. It’s has standard gauge(1435mm). Hankyu Umeda station(Osaka) is the biggest station in all Japanese private railways. It has 9 lines and 10 platforms and 600000 people transit a day. Hankyu is famous for possessing Takarazuka- girls-opera.

photo: old Hankyu train in TGOF and new Hankyu train
[IMG]http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/4469/hotaruju4.gif" border=0>[/IMG]
[IMG]http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/6955/hankyujw3.png" border=0>[/IMG]
[IMG]http://img176.imageshack.us/img176/4986/041121hky9300311vx3.jpg" border=0> [/IMG]

Post last edited by Kanta on 08.17.2006, 07:49 AM.

I didn't know that Miyazaki liked mechanics... very interesting. It does explain why there are so many intricate details and, of course, trains

One of my favourite parts of Spirited Away is the train. The rare tickets, and the strange ticket conductor. Like in real life, Sen did not know anyone on the train so they were dark and shadowly, like silhouettes.



In real life people on trains are like this, we know nothing about them, and their lives are a mystery to us.

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Thanks to mpw3d who made ths amazing sig! The avatar was made by Sarah, from www.digik.net

i didn't know that bout miyazaki..cool..yeah he does have a lot of trains in his movies..like castle in the sky

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Train in Ghibli 2

Train in Ghibli 2　Chuou-line

Now Studio Ghibli is located near Koganei Station of JR(JAPAN RAILWAYS) Chuou-line.
In earlier days, it was near Kichijoji-station. It’s also on Chuou-line, not far from Koganei. Ghibli museum is near it.
In Tokyo, as people usually use trains for commute and movement, railway lines and stations are common concern for them. JR Chuou-line connects Tokyo station and Takao( west end of Tokyo area). It is an important line and trains run very frequently, sometimes every 2 minute, and murderously crowded during morning commute. Every train has 10 cars and 200m of length. JR lines in Tokyo capital area have their unique color. Chuou line’s trains are all painted orange like the pictures below. Personally, I lived at Nishi-Ogikubo station when I was a university student. Nishi-Ogi is next to Kichijouji.
We can see Chuou-line trains in GHIBLIES and OCEAN WAVE.
[IMG]http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/1077/chuoulinedf1.gif" border=0>[/IMG]

Left: from GHIBLIES-------We can see Nonaka-san (E-hakki!?) in the train.
Right: opening of OCEAN WAVE-------The sign says this is Kichijouji station.
Below: Ghuou-line trains.

[IMG]http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/8003/cyuoulineyw5.gif" border=0>[/IMG]
[IMG]http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/8669/520vg9.jpg" border=0>[/IMG]

Post last edited by Kanta on 08.13.2006, 05:46 AM.

man kanta you notice the details!

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Train in Ghibli 3
In SPIRITED AWAY, Unabara-Dentetsu ( Sea-field Electric Railway) appears. It’s very old fashioned and looks wooden made.
Unabara-train runs just below YUYA( bath house).
After heavy rainfall and flood, it runs through field of sea. Chihiro and Kaonashi(no face) get on it and go to Zeniba’s house.
This train runs only one way, never return.
It’s named Dentetsu(shorted from Denki-Tetsudou, means electric railway) though, we can’t see any trolley line or third rail. It’s also a miracle.
There are many private railways in Japan and many of them have DENTETSU in their company name, like Hanshin-dentetsu(famous for baseball team), Keisei-dentetsu(runs Narita airport express).
Momotarou-Dentetsu isn’t a real railway, but a popular computer game’s name.
On Chihiro’s short trip, we see some mysterious scenery and passengers. I guess these come from Miyazaki’s nostalgia of his childhood.
I also have nostalgia like it. In my old memory, I can remember a scene of crossing like this picture…….

Above: Unabara-dentetsu train
Middle: mysterious crossing
Below: Image-board painted by Miyazaki. A train can be seen.
[IMG]http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/2193/unabara1zp4.gif" border=0>[/IMG] [IMG]http://img223.imageshack.us/img223/4339/yuyajj4.gif" border=0>[/IMG]

man that's why i love ghibli every scene is like a painting!

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Trains in Ghibli - 4 - TOTORO

This is a map of Matsugo where TOTORO lives.
[IMG]http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/499/totoromapoo0.jpg" border=0>[/IMG] [IMG]http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/7215/higashidentetsuyj7.gif" border=0>[/IMG]
According to map of Matsu-gou (gou means village, like ton or ham in England) which was drawn by Miyazaki, the railway appears in TOTORO is named Higashi-Dentetsu(East Electric Railway). In this map, any stations can’t be seen. Maybe the nearest station around here is bit far from Satsuki’s house. When Mr. Kusakabe got off the Higashi-Dentetsu bus at Inari-mae bus stop, he said to Satsuki that he was late because the train ran behind schedule. So he is commuting to his university in Tokyo by bus and train at least.
I once heard the locale of this movie was set in Tokorozawa, in the west suburb of Tokyo and not far from Studio Ghibli.
In this case, from what I can gather, Higashi-Dentetsu is actually SEIBU-Tetsudou (Seibu-Railway company). After 50 years later, SEIBU has grown in very big business. It mainly runs a real-estate business and hotels and leisure industry. It’s impossible to imagine from that small train in the movie.
[IMG]http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/5035/seibuds6.gif" border=0>[/IMG]

Post last edited by Kanta on 08.13.2006, 03:26 AM.

Yeh I know it
Any way thank you ^^

Trains in Ghibli 5 Whisper of the Heart-----KEIO railway

[IMG]http://img235.imageshack.us/img235/9082/1ri7.gif" border=0>[/IMG]

In Whisper of the Heart, Shizuku gets on a train to the library. That is KEIO Dentetsu (electric railway).
In the movie, we can see Moo(fat cat) is seeing outside and there is KEIO department store.
I once heard that the locale of this movie was set around Seiseki-Sakuragaoka station of KEIO line.
In the movie, Shizuku and Moo get off the train at Suginomiya and this station is considered to be Seiseki-Sakuragaoka.
KEIO’s headquarter office is near this station.
Nihon-Animation studio where once Miyazaki and Takahata were working for HEIDI was here.
[IMG]http://img235.imageshack.us/img235/5207/keiomq7.gif" border=0> [/IMG]

It’s a bedroom suburb of Tokyo and located from 30km west from Shinjuku.
At the ending of this movie, when Shizuku and Seiji see sunrise view, we can see tall buildings in the distance. That’s Shinjuku.

[IMG]http://img235.imageshack.us/img235/836/keiolinesnl9.png" border=0>[/IMG]

Post last edited by Kanta on 08.15.2006, 12:26 PM.

The trains are everywhere! I never realised it until I saw this post, but they really do seem to be in nearly every Ghibli film! I've seen trains in Spirited Away, GotF and Kiki, and now that you mention it, I've seen them in loads of clips, screencaps, etc.

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Trains in Ghibli 6 Whisper of the Heart -----IBLARD

[IMG]http://img238.imageshack.us/img238/4269/iblard1du7.gif" border=0>[/IMG]

Shizuku writes a story about Baron. And in the image Shizuku imagines we see wonder world like the pictures above.
These are pictures from Natural History of IBLARD series painted by INOUE Naohisa.
IBLARD is the world he imagines and he has created a series of paintings about it.
He was a high-school teacher of art and unknown as a painter.
He was a fan of Miyazaki and once he sent an invitation card for his private exhibition without any expectation.
But, Miyazaki came and bought a picture and additionally adopted IBLARD for his next movie Whisper.
It was a miraculous luckiness for Inoue. After the movie released, he became overnight famous painter.

Anyway, to talk about railway, see the railway in this picture below left.
This is craftsman’s town and Baron was made here. In the movie, as we can’t see any trains, I show you the train which should run on this railroad.
I think this railway has a model in real world. That’s Hankyu railway I mentioned before.
[IMG]http://img238.imageshack.us/img238/4589/iblard2cx8.gif" border=0>[/IMG]

In fact, the name IBLARD comes from IBARAKI city in Osaka where Inoue lives.
He always use and see Hankyu railway since he was very small.
He says Hankyu Umeda station is often seen in his picture. (below right: Hankyu station and depertment store in Osaka)
If you want to see IBLARD, go to this site. http://www.iblard.com/english/

[IMG]http://img238.imageshack.us/img238/9871/iblard3gl7.gif" border=0>[/IMG]

Post last edited by Kanta on 08.16.2006, 11:33 PM.

Kanta, this is an absolutely amazing thread ~ it's really interesting!

Congratulations, how do you know all this? I guess you just picked it up from living in Japan.

Keep it up, you've made an facinating thread!!

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Thanks to mpw3d who made ths amazing sig! The avatar was made by Sarah, from www.digik.net

quote:

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postede by Phyrra
Kanta, this is an absolutely amazing thread ~ it's really interesting! Congratulations, how do you know all this? I guess you just picked it up from living in Japan.

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Thank you, Phyrra.
Don't forget I've been a big fan of Ghibli for 20 years long. I know much more about Ghibli than young people around here.
And to tell the truth, I got most of my knowlege about Ghibli from Nausicca net.
That has unbelievably huger info than any other sites in Japan.
I read almost of articles of Nausicca net 2 years ago.

Post last edited by Kanta on 08.16.2006, 11:36 PM.

Train in Ghibli 6 ------ KIKI’s delivery service

In this film, we can see many kinds of vehicles or transports like airplane, trains, cars, buses, trams, air-ship, deck-brush, etc……….
All of them look old-fashioned. The historical setting is set in Europe in 1940s but there is no World War.
I heard Ghibli staff scenery hunted in Scandinavia. Some says this is Germany because there can be seen Zeppelin and VW-cars and tri-motor airplane. Some says the atmosphere of the fishing port looks Portuguese or Italy. What do European people think about this??

[IMG]http://img74.imageshack.us/img74/4469/nbtraininkikijl0.gif" border=0>[/IMG]

-------------------------- left: NB train in KIKI. ---------------------------------------- right: DB old locomotive ----------------

Anyway, we can see a freight train pulled by a diesel locomotive when KIKI travels to the seaside town.
The locomotive has sign of NB on its head. It obviously imitates DB. DB (Deutsche Bahn ) is abbreviation of German Railway.

i like walking, id rather walk 300000000miles than take a train or car or bus or plane or whatever

cheers

Train in Ghibli 7 ------ Only Yeaterday

[IMG]http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/6320/marunouchimp1.gif" border=0>[/IMG]

We cans see some kinds of trains in Only Yesterday.
This is subway line which Taeko commutes to her work in downtown. Taeko can be seen at the door.
Each subway line in Tokyo has its proper color and design. This is old type Marunouchi-line car.
Those old red cars were all exchanged for aluminium cars. Aluminium cars are easy for maintenance, no need coating painting and fireproof and light but commonplace and not beautiful. Almost of subway cars in Japan are now stainless steel or aliminium made. Some of discarded old Marunouch cars are now used in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I heard that they say “ Why do Japanese discard such beautiful brand-new cars??”

left: aluminium cars at Marunouchi-line--------right: old Marunouchi-line-cars in Argentina

[IMG]http://img147.imageshack.us/img147/3281/marunouchi2va7.gif" border=0>[/URL[/IMG]
[URL=http://imageshack.us]]

Post last edited by Kanta on 08.20.2006, 10:59 AM.

Train in Ghibli 8------ Only Yeaterday--------Akebono

[IMG]http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/8889/akebonort1.gif" border=0>[/IMG]

Taeko traveled on a sleeper train Akebono-3 from Tokyo to Yamagata.
Yamagata is about 400km from Tokyo. The train left Tokyo late-night and arrived at Yamagata early morning.
Many of Japanese sleeper cars are painted blue and called Blue Train. But nowadays they are disappearing because Shinkansen lines are extending and people come to prefer airplane rather than railway. Now there is no sleeper from Tokyo to Yamagata.
On the train, Taeko looked back her childhood 11 years old days.

picture: right below
The sleeper train Suisei ran by my town, but now gone. This picture was taken by an English rail-fan a couple of years ago. I live near here.

[IMG]http://img225.imageshack.us/img225/705/mapky0.gif" border=0>[/IMG]

quote:

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Originally posted by Kanta
Train in Ghibli 6 ------ KIKI’s delivery service

In this film, we can see many kinds of vehicles or transports like airplane, trains, cars, buses, trams, air-ship, deck-brush, etc……….
All of them look old-fashioned. The historical setting is set in Europe in 1940s but there is no World War.
I heard Ghibli staff scenery hunted in Scandinavia. Some says this is Germany because there can be seen Zeppelin and VW-cars and tri-motor airplane. Some says the atmosphere of the fishing port looks Portuguese or Italy. What do European people think about this??

[IMG]http://img74.imageshack.us/img74/4469/nbtraininkikijl0.gif" border=0>[/IMG]

-------------------------- left: NB train in KIKI. ---------------------------------------- right: DB old locomotive ----------------

Anyway, we can see a freight train pulled by a diesel locomotive when KIKI travels to the seaside town.
The locomotive has sign of NB on its head. It obviously imitates DB. DB (Deutsche Bahn ) is abbreviation of German Railway.

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Post last edited by Snakebite on 08.20.2006, 10:34 AM.

Trains in Ghibli---------Only Yesterday---------Shinkansen

Shinkansen is super-express train in Japan. Also known as bullet train.
The fastest trains run 300km/hour. It was first officially opened 1964 between Tokyo and Osaka.
In the movie, Taeko is very glad that she can ride it from Tokyo to Atami.
Atami is a famous hot-spring area distant from Tokyo about 100km and takes only 30 minutes.
The movie is set 1966 and 2 years after Shinkansen opened. Probably, that is Taeko’s first ride on shinkansen.
Now at Tokaido-line(Tokyo-Osaka), 300 train run in a day, each train has 16 cars and 400m long, earn 1000 billion yen(9 billion $) / year.

Photo above: old shinkansen train 0 series and Taeko
Photo below: New shinkansen trains
[IMG]http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/1306/taekoshinkansenjl8.gif" border=0>[/IMG]
[IMG]http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/1121/shinkansennowjw8.gif" border=0> [/IMG]